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the couch, landing with a bump.
    ‘Christ in a bucket,’ he muttered, a statement that made no sense, yet was perfectly logical. He covered his face with his elegant, long-fingered hands and leaned back, stretching his legs out in front of him. Then he let out a sigh so deep it seemed to come all the way from the soles of his feet.
    ‘Beer?’ she offered. ‘Water? Or there’s some bubbly in the fridge if you’d like to break it open now.’
    She’d been hoping to break open more than champagne. If Jade had had her way, she’d have undone David’s shirt and had his trousers off almost before the door had closed behind them. But since that was clearly not about to happen, bubbly was the next best option.
    His hands still covering his face, David shook his head as violently as if he was trying to rid himself of an entire colony of sandflies.
    Then he dropped his hands and looked straight at Jade. It was then that she noticed the whites of his ice-blue eyes were red, as if he was short on sleep.
    And then he uttered the words that filled her with dread.
    ‘We need to talk,’ he said.

7
    ‘Talk?’ Jade’s voice sounded hoarse, and she took a large gulp of water from the bottle on the counter. ‘What about?’
    ‘Take a seat,’ David told her, as if he were the original occupant of the chalet and Jade the new arrival.
    Jade didn’t feel like sitting down. Right then, she would have preferred to pace the room, the way that David himself did when he was stressed.
    She perched reluctantly on the edge of the chair opposite him.
    She’d expected that David would want to talk to her, now that the Turffontein house was being sold. This meant he was making life changes, and she had assumed that she would be part of those changes. That they involved her. But maybe she’d been wrong.
    She waited for David to speak again, but he stared at the floor in silence, his elbows propped on his knees and his fists bunched under his chin.
    The knot in her stomach was growing bigger and tighter. She wished he would just get on with it and tell her, because nothing could be more unbearable than this waiting, here in this silent room.
    Or so she thought at the time.
    ‘Speak up, Patel,’ she said encouragingly.
    Eventually David lifted his head and took a deep breath. He still wouldn’t look at her; he just kept on staring at the wooden wall unit that was home to the television, a giant seashell and one flickering lamp.
    Then, at last, he dropped his bombshell.
    ‘Naisha’s pregnant,’ he said.
    His words hit Jade like a fist in the face. She recoiled—she couldn’t help it. Even though she’d steeled herself to take David’s news without showing emotion, she hadn’t been expecting this. Not in a million years.
    Her mind raced as she took in the implications of his words.
    Naisha, David’s wife, was pregnant. But as far as Jade knew, the woman was determinedly single and had been that way for a long time. She’d had her heart set on David moving back in with her. She’d told him on numerous occasions that she wanted to give the marriage another chance.
    So how …?
    The answer was as big and obvious as an open gateway leading straight to hell.
    ‘Is it …’ She found herself choking on the words; having to force them out of a mouth that was suddenly dry again in spite of the water she’d just had. ‘Is it yours?’
    He didn’t answer. Didn’t meet her eyes, just gave a small nod.
    Jade bit into her bottom lip so hard she tasted blood.
    So this was why the Turffontein house had been sold. Not to give David the freedom to choose where he wanted to live, but because he was going to Pretoria. Going to move in again with his wife, who was now expecting their baby.
    ‘When did this happen?’ she asked in a small, tight voice.
    ‘She’s four months along, but she only told me about it last weekend.’
    ‘So four months ago, you slept with her.’
    David gave a small nod.
    ‘Do you know how that makes me feel right